Thanks to ‘Stranger Things,’ Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ hits No. 1 on iTunes
Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” is running up the music charts after featuring significantly in the fourth season of “Stranger Things.”
As of Sunday, the English singer-songwriter’s 1985 track was No. 1 on the iTunes charts and No. 106 on Spotify’s top 200. Google-search traffic for the song has also skyrocketed since the latest chapter of “Stranger Things” debuted Friday on Netflix, peaking on Saturday night.
“Running Up That Hill” can first be heard in the Season 4 premiere of “Stranger Things” through the Walkman of Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), a member of the show’s main ensemble of teens. The emotional lead single off Bush’s fifth studio album, “Hounds of Love,” continues to play a key role as Max’s favorite song in subsequent scenes of the series, which is set in the 1980s.
The oft-nostalgic Netflix series succeeds in Season 4 by treating adolescence as the torturous experience it is for those who don’t fit in.
Since premiering on Netflix in 2016, “Stranger Things” has thrived on visual and sonic ‘80s nostalgia while wreaking incessant, supernatural havoc on the fictional town of Hawkins, Ind.
Other throwback jams on the Season 4 soundtrack include the Beach Boys’ rendition of “California Dreamin’” (originally performed by the Mamas and the Papas), “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads and “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” by Dead or Alive.
In February, “Stranger Things” showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer announced that Season 4 would be released in two parts. The second wave of episodes will be available to stream on July 1.
Netflix added a content disclosure to ‘Stranger Things’ to warn viewers of a violent scene involving kids. Viewers think ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ should have too.
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